St. Joseph’s Hospital-North Receives National Stroke, Cardiac-Care Awards

American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Recognize Quality Achievements in Acute Patient Care

LUTZ, Fla., Aug. 8, 2018 — For the second year in a row, St. Joseph’s Hospital-North has received two awards for quality acute care from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association: the Mission: Lifeline® STEMI Receiving Center – Gold Achievement Award and the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Elite Quality Achievement Award. Both awards recognize the hospital’s efforts in implementing specific quality improvement measures for the treatment of severe heart attacks (ST elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI) and stroke.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience a STEMI, the most deadly type of heart attack. Caused by a blockage of blood supply to the heart, STEMI requires timely treatment to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.

The Mission: Lifeline program is a coordinated, proactive system of care that turns first responders, hospitals and other health care providers into a team that uses proven guidelines and best practices to treat patients suffering from STEMI. It allows all of the components of care - from the onset of the emergency all the way through hospital discharge and the start of secondary prevention – to work quickly and seamlessly.

“We commend St. Joseph’s Hospital-North for this award in recognition of following evidence-based guidelines for timely heart attack treatment,” said Tim Henry, M.D., Chair of the Mission: Lifeline Acute Coronary Syndrome Subcommittee. “We applaud the significant institutional commitment to their critical role in the system of care for quickly and appropriately treating heart attack patients.”

Developed to save lives and improve recovery time, the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program also focuses on nationally recognized, research-based guidelines to ensure that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment. That includes the aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anti-clotting drugs, blood thinners and cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis and smoking cessation counseling.

“We are also pleased to recognize St. Joseph’s Hospital-North for their dedication to stroke care,” added Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people have a new or recurrent stroke each year.

“We are thrilled to be recognized as providing top-quality cardiac and stroke care from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the second year in a row,” said Paula McGuiness, president of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North. “Treating these acute conditions quickly and safely via nationally respected clinical guidelines is critical and we are committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for all our patients, as evidenced by this pair of gold awards.”

St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa and St. Joseph’s Hospital-South in Riverview also received the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Elite Quality Achievement Award.

About St. Joseph’s Hospital-North
St. Joseph’s Hospital-North opened in February 2010 to bring high-quality health care services to North Tampa in an environment designed to help patients heal.  Part of BayCare Health System, St. Joseph’s Hospital-North features all private patient suites and offers emergency care, surgical services, GI endoscopy, imaging, intensive care, obstetrics, cardiac catheterization, interventional radiology and more in a peaceful, relaxing and family-centered environment. Located just north of Tampa in Lutz, the all-digital, state-of-the-art facility is specially designed to make patients and visitors as comfortable as possible during their hospital experience.                        

About BayCare Health System
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 15 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care.

# # #